Guano distributor



Nov. 20, 1934. E. M. COLE 1,981,222

GUANO DI STRIBUTOR Filed Oct. 28, 1931. 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

BYW

ATTORNEY.

Nov. 20, 1934. E. M. COLE GUANO DISTRIBUTOR Filed Oct. 28, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I ENC 045;

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Nov. 20, 1934. E. M. COLE GUANO DI STRI BUTOR Filed Oct. 28, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet '3 I E/VCOLE;

ZNVAEN TOR.

ATTORNEY.

Nov. 20, 1934. E, M COLE GUANO DISTRIBUTOR Filed Oct. 28, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 12, ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 2Q, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GUANO DISTRIBUTOR Eugene M. Cole, Charlotte, N. C.

. Application October 28, 1931, Serial No. 571,648 Claims. (01. 221-125) This invention relates to a guano distributor. and more especially to a distributor in which the amount distributed is uniform depending upon the rate of distribution at which the distributor is set regardless of the condition of the guano or other matter being distributed.

In various types of guano distributors the humidity and the degree of fineness of the guano afiects the amount distributed as in many cases where the guano is finely ground and very dry, the rate of distribution will be increased; whereas, when the guano is damp or coarse and lumpy the rate of distribution will be very much smaller than in case where the guano is fine and very dry.

It is an object of this invention to provide a guano distributor in which the rate of distribution will remain constant at all times upon a given setting regardless of the condition of the guano, and this result is accomplished by forcing a predetermined volume of guano out of a distributor and preventing the volume from being increased or decreased on account of the humidity or coarseness or fineness of the guano itself.

t is a further object of this invention to provide a guano distributor having upper and lower spaced plates forming a peripheral groove therebetween with the upper plate being very thin and having a plurality of small openings therein through which the guano may pass to the groove to be expelled therefrom. The upper plate is preferably made of approximately 16 gage gal vanized sheet iron or similar material. This makes a very thin upper plate and therefore, causes the openings or slots therein through which the guano passes, to have very narrow sidewalls so as to prevent adherence of sticky guano to the sidewalls oi the openings and also prevent the leading edges of the sidewalls from carrying over guano. By providing an upper plate in the rotary member disposed in the bottom of the hopper, which is very thin and of approximately 16 gage material, the sidewalls of the opening in the upper plate are so narrow that guano cannot adhere thereto and therefore openings of constant size are maintained, whereby aconstant volume of guano is allowed to pass through the openings regardless of the condition of the guano, whether it be damp and sticky or whether it be dry and powdery. Furthermore, if the upper plate were of any appreciable thickness, the leading edges of the prongs between the sidewalls of the openings would carry substantial quantities of the guano over the deflector and sometimes these quantities of guano carried over would break away and fall behind the deflector whereas, in other instances they would not break away and therefore a uniform amount of guano would not be delivered by the guano distributor according to the setting of the same. Furthermore, by providing the upper plate with a plurality of very small openings therein which are of lesser size than the discharge openings, it insures that lumps of guano cannot pass into the groove between the plates which are larger than the discharge opening, therefore making it impossiblefor the discharge opening to choke up, and thus insuring accurate calibration. Furthermore, by having the openings in the upper plate of a very small width and having a plurality of prongs separating these openings, the upper plate substantially supports the bulk of guano in the hopper and relieves the guano in the groove between the plate of any substantial weight and therefore regardless of the amount of guano in the hopper the density of the guano in the groove between the plates is approximately the same at all times.

Some of the objects of my invention having been stated other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings-in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of my guano distributor;

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along the line 22 in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the guano hopper and associated parts;

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a fragment of the right hand portion of Figure 3 and being taken along the line 4-4 in Figure 3; 90

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a perspective view showing a modified form of the means for deflecting the guano out of the hopper; 95

Figure '7 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 7-'! in Figure 1 thru the gear housing attached to the driving wheel;

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 8-8 in Figure 7; L

Figure 9 is an enlarged detail elevation of the means for throwing the distributor into and out of gear;

Figure 10 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 10-10 in Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 11-11 in Figure 9;

Figure 12 is an edge view of a portion of a modified form of the rotatable member in the bottom of the hopper. 1m

Figure 13 shows a modified form of hopper and bottom member;

Figure 14 shows a modified form according to Figure 13, and showing especially the spout and deflecting means.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numerals 10 and 11 indicate the two members forming the beam or main portion of the framework of the guano distributor having a clevis. 12 secured between the front ends thereof and having a depth regulating member 13 secured between the members 10 and 11 and having a drag 14 secured on the lower end thereof with a brace 15 secured to member 13 and having a. slot 16 in the upper end thereof penetrated by a bolt 17 penetrating the beam portions 10 and 11 for purposes of adjusting the depth of plow 16 secured to the lower ends of foot members 19 and '20 which members are secured by any suitable means such as bolts 21 and 22 to hold the foot members rigidly between the beam members 10 and 11. 22 also secures handle portions24 and 25v at their lower ends to the beam members 10 and 11. Handle members 24 and 25 project upwardly and rearwardly and by means of bolts 26 and 27 a hopper 28 is secured between the handle mem-- bers 24 and 25 in non-rotative position. Handle members 24 and 25 also have secured thereto by any suitable means such as bolts 29 and 30, the upper ends-of braces 31 and 32, the lower ends of said braces being secured to the beam members l0 and 11 for supporting the handles and hopper in rigid position. v

' Suitable downwardly projecting members such as 35 secured to the rear end of beam members 10 and 11, there being only one shown (see Fig. 7) and these members are secured in any suitable means such as by bolts 36 piercing the downwardly extending members 35 and also the beam members 10 and 11. Between these members 35 is mounted a traction or ground wheel 37 having an axle 38 which projects thru bearing portion 39 of members 35, and is squared at its end and has removably mounted thereon a pinion 40 which pinion is adapted to mesh with another pinion 41 rotatably secured on a sleeve 42, which sleeve is threadably secured on a bolt 43, and this sleeve has a base portion 44 having a lip 45 which prevents relative movement between sleeve 42 and member 35. Pinion 41 has an extension 47 which is hexagonal in crosssection. Removably mounted on this hexagonal portion is a sprocket wheel 48, the sleeve portion 47 of pinion 41 and sprocket wheel 48 being confined on bolt 43 by means of a washer 49, nut 50 and cotter pin 51. A suitable cover 52 is secured over the pinions 40 and 41 by any suitable means such as bolts 53 penetrating member 35 and cover 52. Cover 52 has an opening 55 thru which the extension portion 47 of pinion 41 projects and into which is also adapted to fit an extension portion of sprocket wheel 43. v The pinions 40 and 41 are interchangeable to produce the desired speed of rotation to sprocket wheel 48, and larger or smaller pinions may be installed, also the sprocket wheel 48 may be of any desired size to regulate the rate of application of the guano.

Sprocket 48 has mounted thereon a sprocket chain which is also mounted on a sprocket wheel 61, removably mounted on a sleeve 62 (see Figs. 2 and 5) which sleeve is hexagonal in cross section, and sprocket 61 has a hexagonal hole therein for loosely fitting over the sleeve 62. Sleeve 62 has integral therewith a bevel gear portion 63. The sleeve 62 andbevel gear 63 are ro- Bolt tatably mounted on a pin 64 which is integral with an arm 65. The sprocket wheel 61 and bevel gear 63 with its sleeve 62 are confined on pin 64 by any suitable means such as a washer 66 and a cotter key 67. Arm has projections 68 and 69 forming a space 70 in which an angle member 71 is adapted to fit loosely to limit the upward and downward movement of arm 65. Bracket 71 is secured by riveting or otherwise to an angle iron member .73 secured by any suitable means such as a bolt74 to beam member 10.

Member 65 (see Figs. :1, 16, 11) extends rearwardly and has an enlarged opening 75 therein into which a cam member '76 is adapted to fit loosely, said cam member being loosely penetrated by a bolt 77, penetrating beam member 10 and also a bracket 78 for supporting member 65. Cam-member 76 has portion 80 fitting over the outside of member 65 around its opening 75, and the portion 80 extends only part of the way around the circumference of member 76 and has shoulders 82 and 84 and a knob 85 for imparting rotation to cam member 76 on its bolt 77. Member 65 has a projection 86 projecting in the path of shoulders 83 and 84 to limit rotative movement of member 76. It is seen that by imparting" a counterclockwise motion to member 76 as viewed in Figure 9 that member 65 will be advanced to the right and by a clockwise motion being imparted to member 76 the member65 will be moved to the left with relation tobeam member 10. This mechanism is provided to allow adjustment of sprockets 48 and 61 toward and away from each other to compensate for different lengths of sprocket chains which may be necessary when sprockets 48 and 86 are removed and other sprockets of different size placed in their stead.

It is seen that when member 76 is turned to adjusted position that nut 7711 on bolt 77 is tightened to hold the member 76 in adjusted position, but it will not cause any binding on member 65 and will allow member 65 to be swung upwardly and downwardly to throw the distributing mechanism in and out of gear. This upward and gear63 into and out of gear with mechanism presently to be described, is accomplished 'by means of a rod 90 piercing a projection 91 (see Figs. 2 and 9) on member 65, and a compression spring 92 is mounted around rod 90 with a nut 93 on the end thereof to allow resiliency when bevel gear 63 is forced against its corresponding bevel gear for driving the distributing mechanism which will be presently described.

Rod 90 extends upwardly and is pivotally secured to a hand lever 94 which hand lever has a lug 95 thereon to limit relative movement between rod 90 and lever 94. Lever 94 is pivotally mounted as at 96 to handle 24. T

In Figure 1 the device is in gear with the distributing mechanism, and when the handle 94 is pulled backwardly and allowed to drop downwardly the mechanism is thrown out of gear and projection 97 will limit this downward movement (see Fig. 2). I

Bevel gear 63 is adapted to mesh with a larger bevel gear 100 loosely mounted on shaft 161, which shaft is rotatably mounted on the horizontal portion 73aof bracket 73, and the lower f',

end of shaft'lOl has washer 102 and pin 103 for confining the lower end of the shaft. gear 100 has a boss 104 thereon and an upwardly'projecting squared portion 105 projecting thru the bottom 106 of guano hopper 28. The fit bedownward swinging movement to throw bevel tween portion and bottom 106 is a loose fit so that portion 105 may have movement relative to bottom 106 which remains Stationary.

Bottom member 106 has an upwardly extending rim portion 166a which has at spaced intervals projections 1061) which project thru or into indentations in hopper 28 so as to rigidly secure hopper 28 to rim portion 106a.

Bottom 106 on its lower side has a boss 108, and on its upper side a similar boss 109. On the upper boss 109 the distributing plate or rotatable member is adapted to be supported, and said plate or rotating member may be made all in one piece or of a plurality of pieces as shown. This revolving distributing member as shown comprises abottom plate 110 and a plurality of smaller plates 111, 112, 113 and 114, and a plate 115 of approximately the same or slightly larger diameter than plate 110. On top of plate 115 is disposed a hub member 116. A bolt or rivet 117 pierces hub member 116 and shaft 101. A plurality of rivets or other suitable binding means indicated by reference character 118, bind plates 110 to 115 securely to each other and also secure hub member 116 to the plates to form an integral structure comprising parts 110 to 118 inclusive.

The plates 110 and 115 being of larger diameter than the intermediate plates 111, 112, 113 and 114 leave a circumferential or peripheral groove 120 into which the guano is adapted to fall and to be expelled therefrom. The guano is permitted to fall into circumferential groove120 by means of top plate 115 having therein a plurality of radially disposed slots 121, forming tongues 119.

Hopper 28 has a suitable opening 122 therein over which is secured a spout 123 in any suitable manner such as screws or rivets 125. The interior of the hopper 28 has secured thereto a cover member 126, which screens the opening 122 and prevents guano from coming out of the opening 122 except the guano which is forced out of groove 120 and this means comprises a plate 12'? secured to the outside hopper 28 by any suitable means, such as bolts 128 and this has a tongue portion 129 projecting thru opening 122 and into groove 120, so that as member comprising plates 110 to 115 is rotated the guano will fall down between slots 121 and will be forced out of the groove 120 and out thru opening 122 and down spout 123. Spout 123 is secured to plow foot members 19 and 20 by any suitable means such a support 130.

In Figure 6 a modified form of the tongue and plate for forcing the guano out of groove 120 in which I have a plate 131 having a tongue portion 132 with an auxiliary tongue portion 133 having a slot 134 therein, with a bolt 135 mounted in portion 132 and penetrating slot 134, so that the depth of penetration of tongue member into groove 12!) can be adjusted to regulate the amount of guano delivered from the mechanism.

In Figure 12 a slightly modified form of the top plate 115 is shown in which the prongs 119a are bent slightly to cause the guano tofeed more rapidly into the groove 120. The prongs 119a, as shown in the other figures of the drawings, are not bent but are on the same plane as the rest of the plate 115.

It is evident that the distance between plates 110 and 115 be varied by adding to or decreasing the number of plates such as 111, 112,

113 and 114 or if desired, these plates can be dispensed with and one solid plate used in lieu of a plurality of plates.

The width of tongue 129 of course varies according to the width of groove 120.

In Figures 13 and 14 a modified form of the invention.- is shown in which the hopper is mounted for vertical adjustment on bolts 29 and 30 on handles 24 and 25 by means of slots 151 and 152 being disposed in the sidewalls of said hopper and said hopper is also supported by a plurality of brackets such as 153 adjustably secured-to hopper 156 by means of bolts 154 penetrating slots 155 in brackets 153. One of these brackets is shown as being connectedto angle iron bracket 73 as at 156; whereas, the other brackets are connected to the framework of the machine in any suitable manner, not shown, as it is evident that these brackets can be secured to any portion of the framework of the machine for supporting the hopper "for vertical adjustment. The hopper 150 is open at its lower end and has secured therearound a guard plate 156 which is stationary with the hopper. This guard is to prevent the wind from blowing whatever small amount of guano may work between the lower end of the hopper 150 and the distributing member. The distributing member is indicated by reference character 157 which has integral therewith a bevel gear 158 adapted to mesh with bevel gear 63 for imparting rotation to the distributing member 157. Distributing member 157 has a hub portion 159 thereon adapted to rest on bracket 73 and to rotate thereon.

Hub member has integral therewith the outwardly and downwardly projecting portion of the plate which has a level portion close to the periphery thereof which extends beneath the lower end of hopper 150 and is slightly upturned at its periphery as shown at 166. Secured on top of. hub member 159 may be a plurality or a single unit of washers 162, 163 and 164 and on top of these washers is adapted to be placed a plate 165 which is very similar or identical to plate 115 shown in the previous figures of the drawings. This plate 165 has a plurality of prongs 166 thereon which are identical in structure to prongs 119 as shown in Figure 3, thus leaving openings therebetween' identical to openings 121 shown in Figure 3. These openings, of course, may be varied as to width to in one Way regulate the amount of guano falling between the prongs 166 into the cavity 163 between the main member 157 and plate 165.

Main member 157 and plate 165 and washers 162, 163, 164 are secured to each other by means of rivets 169'. Hub member 159, as well as washers 162, 163, and 164, as well as plate 165, and also bracket '73, has coinciding holes therethru in which is mounted a pin 1'70 which penetrates all of the above mentioned members and on the lower side thereof a washer 171 is disposed with cotter pin 1'72; whereas on the upper side thereof, washer 173 is disposed with cotter pin 174, the cotter pins and washers holding the member 157 and associated parts in rotative position on bracket '73.

In Figure 14 a detailed sectional view is shown thru the parts as described in Figure 13, but at a point where the spout occurs and an opening occurs in the hopper thru which the guano is deflected into the spout. A covering 175 is provided similar to cover 126 in Figure 4, and the 11,,

fix

of the hopper and also being securedzto the framework of the guano distributor, said secure,

.bears the same reference characters, Also the modified form of the deflector shown in Figure 6 can also be used if desired.

In the drawings and specification I have set forth a preferred embodiment of my invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only,

. and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the appended claims.

I claim 1. A guano distributor having a hopper and a bottom member fixedly secured to said hopper, said hopper having an opening in the lower portion thereof, a rotatable member comprising upper and lower spaced plates providing a space therebetween, said upper plate having a plurality of openings therein whose width is less than the opening in the hopper, a deflector mounted 1 on the hopper and extending between the plates,

said plates having a vertically disposed shaft secured thereto and extending thru said bottom and being rotatably mounted in said bottom, a gear secured to the lower end of said shaft below said bottom and driving means for said gear.

2. A guano distributor having a stationary hopper and a fixed bottom therein, and also having an opening inthe side thereof, arotatable member comprising ,upper and lower spaced plates, mounted in the lower part of said hopper,

said bottom having a vertically disposed shaft rotatably mounted in said upper and lower spaced plates mounted on said shaft, spacing means mounted between said plates and providing a peripheral groove between the plates, said upper plate having a plurality of radially disposed slots therein whose width is less than the Width of the opening in the hopper, a deflector member mounted on the hopper and projecting thru said opening and extending between said plates, a gear mounted on said shaft below said bottom and means for driving said gear.

3. In a guano distributor, a hopper, a rotary member mounted on the bottom of said hopper and having a shaft extending downward thru said bottom, a gear secured on said shaft and means for driving said gear, said rotary member comprising upper and lower plate members and means for spacing said plates from each other forming a peripheral groove between the plates, said hopper having an opening therein coinciding with said groove, said upper plate having radially disposed slots therein narrower than said opening to substantially separate the guano in the groove from the bulk of guano in the hopper.

4. In a guano distributor, a stationary hopper, a rotary member mounted for rotation in the bottom of said hopper comprising upper and lower relatively thin plates, spacing means between the plates forming a peripheral groove between the plates, the upper plate having a plurality of slots therein, said hopper having an opening therein coinciding with said groove, a deflector mounted on said hopperand extending into said groove for deflecting the guano from said groove thru said opening, the slots in said upper plate being smaller than said opening in said hopper to regulate the size of lumps of guano, which may enter said groove and to substantially separate the guano in thejgroove from the bulk of guano contained within said hopper, the upper plate being thin thereby preventing the guano from being carried over the deflector by the sidewalls of the openings in the upper plate. 7

5. A guano distributor having a hopper,.provided with a hole in one side thereof and near the lower end thereof, a rotary member mounted in the bottom of said hopper and means for driving said rotary member, said rotary member having upper and lower plates, a spacer smaller than the plates disposed between the plates and forming with the plates a peripheral groove between the plates, a deflector projecting through said hole and into said groove for deflecting guano from the hopper, said upper plate having a plurality of radially disposed prongs separated from each other by small openings to substantially support the bulk of guano in the hopper, the upper plate being thin so as to prevent guano from adhering to the edges of said prongs thereby maintaining openings of constant size for the guano to pass into said groove.

6. A guano distributor having a hopper, provided with a delivery opening therein, a rotary member disposed within the hopper, means for driving the rotary member. the rotary member having a peripheral groove therein and the upper portion of said rotary member having radially disposed prongs thereon spaced apart from each other and being disposed above the groove, the leading edges of said prongs being disposed higher than the trailing edges of the prongs for forcing the guano into said groove, and Ya deflector disposed on the hopper and projecting into said as the rotary member is rotated.

'7. A guano distributor having a hopper provided with a delivery opening in the side thereof,

a rotatable member mounted in the bottom of the hopper, means for imparting rotation to the rotatable member, said rotatable member having a peripheral groove therein, a deflector mounted on the hopper and extending into said groove for delivering the guano from the groove when the l rotatable member is rotated, the portion of the rotatable member disposed above said groove having a plurality of relatively small openings therein to permit guano to pass therethrough into th'e groove, said openings being small enough to cause ii the upper portion of the rotatable member to support the bulk of the guano in the hopper and to relieve pressure of the bulk on the guano in the l groove for deflecting the guano out of the hopper groove and the upper portion being thin so as to H prevent the sidewalls of the openings from carrying guano over the deflector.

8. A guano distributor comprising a hopper, a rotatable member mounted in the hopper and means for imparting rotation to the rotatable member, said rotatable member having a periphsaid groove for deflecting guano out of the groove 15% and out of the hopper when the rotatable member is rotated.

9. In a guano distributor a cylindrical hopper 4 having a delivery opening therein, a rotary member mounted for rotation, in the lower portion of the hopper, means for driving the rotary member, said rotary member comprising upper and lower plates secured together for rotation and spaced from each other to form a guano measuring space therebetween, said upper plate having a plurality of small openings therein serving to substantially separate the guano in the hopper from the space between the plates, the upper plate being thin so as to prevent the guano from adhering to the side walls of the openings, the openings being smaller than the delivery opening in said hopper, and a deflector mounted on the hopper and projecting between the plates to deflect the guano out of said opening as the said plates are rotated.

10. In a guano distributor having a hopper provided with a hole therein, rotary means disposed in the bottom of the hopper for delivering the guano from the hopper, said rotary means comprising two revolving horizontally disposed parallel plates secured to each other and having a spacer of smaller dimensions than the plates disposed therebetween, forming a peripheral groove between the plates, the upper of said plates having a plurality of slots therein to permit guano to flow into said groove and at the same time separate the guano in the hopper from the guano in the groove, the upper plate being thin so as to prevent guano from adhering to the sidewalls of the slots whereby openings of constant size are provided through which the guano flows, and a deflector disposed on the hopper and projecting into said groove for deflecting the guano from said groove through said opening in said hopper.

EUGENE M. COLE. 

